Innate Behavior (Skinner, 1974)

Abstract

In his 1974 book, Skinner presents in chapter 3 his response to critics who describe behaviorism (generally) as a type of “radical environmentalism”, adhering to the notions of “tabula rasa”, “black box” and “empty organism”. The historical context in which the debate takes place is important for understanding Skinner’s position. The privileged interlocutor seems to be the Classical Ethology of Lorenz and Tinbergen. In an effort to clarify his position, Skinner presents behavior, including the mechanisms of respondent and operant conditioning, as yet another product of natural selection, an organic function, like breathing and digestion, philosophically embracing naturalism, selectionism and physicalism. In doing so, he implodes the “innate vs. learned” dualism and systematically criticizes mentalism in its most varied forms, including the concept of “instinct”.